WINTER GARDEN, FL. Food from an unapproved or unknown source was on the premises at Sizzlin Greens on West Colonial Drive when a state inspector arrived on July 15, and that was not the worst thing they found.
The Orange County restaurant logged seven high-severity violations and one intermediate violation during the inspection. State inspectors left without ordering an emergency closure. The restaurant remained open.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation is among the most serious a food service establishment can receive. Food from unapproved or unknown sources has not passed USDA or FDA inspection, meaning there is no documented chain of custody if a customer becomes ill. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, a requirement that applies to fish and certain other proteins served raw or undercooked.
No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. That single fact sets the context for everything else on the list.
The handwashing findings were layered. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing facilities and improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning the infrastructure was deficient and the practice was deficient. Employees were also cited for not reporting illness symptoms, a separate high-severity violation.
Toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used somewhere in the facility. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal, classified as an intermediate violation.
What These Violations Mean
The food sourcing violation is not a paperwork problem. When food enters a restaurant from an unapproved or unknown supplier, there is no government inspection record attached to it. If a customer gets sick, investigators have nowhere to trace the product. The same ingredients that carry Listeria or Salmonella through a licensed supply chain can arrive at a restaurant with no documentation and no safety checkpoint.
The parasite destruction citation compounds that concern. Certain fish and proteins require specific freezing temperatures or cooking times to kill parasites like Anisakis or tapeworm. When those procedures are skipped, the parasites survive into the finished dish.
The illness reporting violation is a direct transmission risk. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness, including nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, continue handling food while potentially infectious. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks, spreads readily through this route. A single infected employee can expose dozens of customers in a single shift.
The handwashing failures at Sizzlin Greens were structural and behavioral at the same time. Inadequate facilities means the physical setup, whether a blocked sink, missing soap, or absent paper towels, made proper handwashing impossible. The improper technique citation means that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, they were not doing it correctly. Both conditions existed simultaneously during this inspection.
The Longer Record
The July 15 inspection was the sixth on record for Sizzlin Greens. The facility has accumulated 49 total violations across those six inspections and has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern across the prior five inspections is consistent. In February 2026, inspectors found five high-severity and three intermediate violations. In July 2025, five high-severity and one intermediate. In April 2025, four high-severity and two intermediate. In January 2025, four high-severity and two intermediate.
The only inspection without high-severity violations was the first one on record, in April 2024.
Every subsequent inspection has produced high-severity violations. The count has not declined. The July 2026 inspection, with seven high-severity citations, is the worst the facility has recorded.
The Longer Record in Numbers
Five consecutive inspections with high-severity violations. Seven in the most recent visit alone. No emergency closure at any point in the facility's history.
The restaurant at 12639 West Colonial Drive, Suite C, remained open after the July 15 inspection.
